Spider-Man, a native New Yorker who was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, has been a fan favorite for almost 60 years.
After making his debut in “Amazing Fantasy #15” (1962), Spider-Man has gone on to star in several cartoons, live-action pictures, and even computer-generated movies.
The latter is a reference to Sony Pictures’ upcoming blockbuster Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), the sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (also directed by Spider-Verse co-creator Bob Persichetti) and stars Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) instead of Peter Parker.
However, the animated epic follows several films and TV shows that have included a live-action Spider-Man. Over twenty years ago, filmmaker Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) debuted the wallcrawler to the big screen. After the success of Spider-Man (2002), two more films followed, with Maguire returning to the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
In Marc Platt’s reinvention of the superhero five years later, viewers were introduced to Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick… Boom!). The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) retold Peter Parker’s classic origin tale, and the sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was met with mixed reviews. Alongside Emma Stone (who played Gwen Stacy), Garfield featured.
A third Amazing Spider-Man film was never made, despite setting up a sequel with a reference to the Sinister Six. In fact, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios would introduce the web-slinger to the MCU without even mentioning his origin tale until two years later.
In Captain America: Civil War (2016), newcomer Tom Holland (The Crowded Room) injected the role with young vigor. The deal between The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios, and Amy Pascal’s Sony Pictures would see Holland star in his own Spider-Man trilogy as part of the MCU.
The novel new take on the Spider-Man world provided by Tom Holland, Zendaya (MJ), and Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds) in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), would lead to box office success for the Marvel studio. Holland would reprise his role in both Avengers films, Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019).
The events leading up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021’s great post-pandemic success, were set in motion when Marvel opened the door to the Multiverse in the Disney+ series Loki. Fans were so impressed with Garfield’s return to the role of Peter Parker in the third film that they demanded more storylines starring the actor, with some holding out hope that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 might be revived.
Andrew Garfield replaced as Spider-Man.
Holland recently discussed the moment early in his Marvel career when he forgot to contact the Oscar-nominated actor after learning of his Spider-Man casting, despite the fact that Garfield returned to the character seven years after his last appearance.
Tom Holland, a British actor, recently opened out to The Hollywood Reporter about his regret at not having a conversation with Andrew Garfield before replacing him as Spider-Man.
“That’s because of my naivete as a kid,” he explained to THR. When I was 19 years old, I was cast. I was focused on landing the part and didn’t give any thought to how he may have felt.
An additional statement from the actor:
If my second film failed to do as well as it should have, and I was subsequently replaced in the lead role, I doubt I would be able to recover. Andrew made the most incredible recovery. If only I’d phoned him and been honest about how I couldn’t pass up this chance.
